- a kind of virtual social intelligence, a reaching out on Group Dynamics and Human Processes at the Workplace ( http://www.workplacecatalysts.com ) .
- Foster a discretionary Presence in Groups, to enable human capability.
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Monday, April 1, 2013

Technology and its meaning for HR managers

The Age of Surprise is
precipitated by the simultaneity of factors that edge our moments in life.
Nuclear war, chemical threats, designer famines and physical terror seem likely
enough. Yet, the trigger for these could be in the hands of innocent
perpetrators. Each time we query a search engine, we are as a civilisation
consuming more energy than we expend on a hand-held device. Time
Tech said in 2011 that “One Google search is equal to turning on a 60W
light bulb for 17 seconds.” Would it be then appropriate to say
that we pay a price for ignorance when we consume what we do?

In order to
survive, even human resource managers use technology. They have large data
management needs for storing personnel records. They also have personal needs
to store reminders, tasks to do and private computations that serve their
social and professional interests. However, when swamped with information that
software analyses provide; human judgment is called for. In order to practice
judgment, one needs to

2)be courageous to test the unknown
and yet unwilling to be naïve; and

3)be forthright with candour and yet endear
the ones who are impacted.

It turns out
that language has a crucial role in the way our frames for decisions inform our
judgment. Let us consider the word ‘technology’ for example. Wikipedia quotes “The word technology refers to the making,
modification, usage, and knowledge oftools,machines, techniques,crafts,systems, and methods of organization, in order to solve a
problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an
applied input/output relation or perform a specific function.” And to think that Sony's Walkman and Apple's Mac or the Tata's Nano are the only marks of technology!Further it states “The human species' use
of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools.
Theprehistoricaldiscovery ofthe ability to control
fireincreased the available sources of food and the invention of thewheelhelped humans in travelling in and controlling
their environment. Recent technological developments, including theprinting
press, thetelephone, and theInternet, have lessened physical barriers tocommunicationand allowed humans to interact freely on a global
scale.”

Hence, when
a Human Resource Manager refers to the word ‘technology’ today, it is not
surprising, that he / she may like to

1)contextualise for economic impact,
especially when the self is reduced to a denominator, where the numerator is
revenue or profit,

2)resign to rather than test the unknown
oneself, for complexity has outpaced singular capacity to deal with variety

3)bind others through technique,
systems and craft than endear with one’s heart, as the toll on emotional energy
is upped by the incessant demands of financial value-chains.

So does it
help get some perspective of our species per se? It does. Few of us are willing
to recognise that evidence points to the use of technology in human society as
long back as 54,000 years ago! While the Mu civilisationdid not reach as high a technology,
supposedly, as other later civilizations, it is, nevertheless, said to have
attained some advanced technology, particularly in the building of long-lasting
megalithic buildings that were able to withstand earthquakes. However, it was
the science of government that is said to have been Mu's greatest achievement. What
can be said of our Human Resource Management systems in organisations today?

In the
annals of time, some contemporary scholarly adjustments from a
Euro-centric view of history to a more integrated one commence not earlier than
700 AD. (Arnold
Pacey, Technology and World Civilization (MIT Press, 1991)). While history itself will judge us on how HR
managers use technology, I simply loved a case study posted on the city of Ur in Sumer. The main idea in the case is that
science and technology helped raise productivity, farm produce and the rise of civilization. Undoubtedly, we are in a different context. While current civilizations share some aspects in common with ancient ones, the level of specialization in our society has galloped without respite.

While People
Process Capability measurements have popularized the word ‘ institutionalization’
– its inherent meaning is short of integration in organisations that assess
themselves for maturity. An institution
could be considered as a long-lasting pattern of organization in a community.
Complex institutions, such as government, religion, and the economy, are
another characteristic of civilization.

In our times, when the short-term memories of people are heightened
on an hourly basis, the moot question for me is this “What model of human being
do we hold when we manage human resources?” That will surely influence
technologies that enable or accompany HR managers. Let us for purposes of this
reading, restrict ourselves to assessment technologies. Says Alexander Panesh of Moscow’s Technical
Univeristy “Assessment technology is a logical scheme of stage_by_stage and
complex usage of all the existing approaches to HR assessment. Thus, in this form
the best result can be reached. However, under these circumstances it is not
always possible to follow an ideal scheme in practice.” Thus human judgment
goes in tandem with choice of assessment technologies.

I would
refer to a wise set of judgment criteria as laid out by Dr. Daniel Harrison as
below

1.Job Specificity : How controlled is the play of
technology? Is it based on workplace performance theory, where success is
heightened when the role holder enjoys performance? Besides, does the
technology also predict performance success with related characteristics such
as fit with supervisor, work environment preferences, task preferences, life-interests,
beyond just personality aspects that indicate behaviour preferences? Context matters.

2.Number of job related factors : Does the technology explain all
known aspects of behaviour or just a handful of factors? Does the technology
indicate criticality of factors to success on the job? Test the unknown too.

3.Lie-detection : Does the technology contain
measures of respondent consistency that screen out socially desirable
responses? Does it indicate which factors are less reliable in the
measurement?

4.Simplicity and Amenability : Does the tool ease up the process
of assessment, than to make additional demands on the assessor? Can it involve
the assessee only to the extent required and no more to produce reliable and
accurate outcomes?

5.Measurement Scale : Does the technology use scaling
techniques that are at once amenable to comparison to a norm for the specified
job as also for self-reflection and development? E.g. Is it merely a bipolar
scale as opposed to an integration of paradox behaviours? Endear the assessee to success on the job.

Thus as we
can see, just from the above scenario for technology in human resource assessments,
the technology for discernment and judgment amongst HR practitioners need
parallel development. The craft, art and use of science in HR practices may
never be ideal, merely because we deal with phenomena of people who have volition beyond mere biological presence.

I am
reminded more than ever that learning may come in the way of learning in our
times. For evolution in human resource practices, we need to pay dynamic
attention to the model of the human being at work. Maturity after all, is a
marking against an ideal. If civilisation is developing, will it be because of
human resources, or will it be in spite of them? Just as we need to be
conscious in our use of energy on a google search, so should we be parsimonious
in talent search.

Technology is not just out there in disembodied virtual
reality in the Age of Surprise, but within us as interactive human beings
ourselves. Do we need to strike conversation on such? Comments and views welcome.

2 comments:

Welcome Major Bhargava. You may have liked the rather combative opening to this piece? What a march the human race has made. Wanted to raise a mention of 'technology' beyond electronics and touch screens, so that we become better at the art and craft of service in our times.